{
 "record_id": "CW-2026-0062",
 "status": "current",
 "merged_id": "CWC-1325",
 "alias_merged_ids": [],
 "display_title": "State of Tamil Nadu v. [name withheld] (Custodial Death of a Minor)",
 "display_title_redacted": "State of Tamil Nadu v. [name withheld] (Custodial Death of a Minor)",
 "state": "Tamil Nadu",
 "district": "Madurai",
 "district_at_time": null,
 "city_town": null,
 "police_station_or_unit": "S.S. Colony Police Station",
 "court": "Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court",
 "court_as_verified": "Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court",
 "bench": null,
 "case_title": "State of Tamil Nadu v. [name withheld] (Custodial Death of a Minor)",
 "case_number": "W.A.(MD) No. 823 of 2024",
 "citation": "2026 LiveLaw (Mad) (unreported)",
 "judges": [
  "G. Jayachandran",
  "K.K. Ramakrishnan"
 ],
 "judgment_date": "2026-01-07",
 "date_precision": "day",
 "judgment_year": 2026,
 "incident_date": "2019-01-01",
 "incident_year": 2019,
 "category": "Custodial death",
 "admin_category": "brutality",
 "admin_subcategory": "custodial_death",
 "subcategory": "custodial_death",
 "subcategory_display": "custodial death",
 "protest_override_heuristic": false,
 "outcome_type": "adverse_finding_compensation",
 "sections": [
  "Article 21, Constitution of India",
  "Section 357A, CrPC"
 ],
 "officers": [
  {
   "name": null,
   "rank": "Inspector",
   "role": "named_in_finding",
   "unit": "S.S. Colony Police Station",
   "publish_grade": "unnamed",
   "name_public": null,
   "display": "Inspector, S.S. Colony Police Station"
  },
  {
   "name": null,
   "rank": "Special Sub-Inspector",
   "role": "named_in_finding",
   "unit": "S.S. Colony Police Station",
   "publish_grade": "unnamed",
   "name_public": null,
   "display": "Special Sub-Inspector, S.S. Colony Police Station"
  },
  {
   "name": null,
   "rank": "Head Constable",
   "role": "named_in_finding",
   "unit": "S.S. Colony Police Station",
   "publish_grade": "unnamed",
   "name_public": null,
   "display": "Head Constable, S.S. Colony Police Station"
  },
  {
   "name": null,
   "rank": "Grade I Constable",
   "role": "named_in_finding",
   "unit": "S.S. Colony Police Station",
   "publish_grade": "unnamed",
   "name_public": null,
   "display": "Grade I Constable, S.S. Colony Police Station"
  }
 ],
 "officer_count": 4,
 "victims": [
  {
   "name": null,
   "gender": "male",
   "descriptor": "Madurai man"
  }
 ],
 "victims_redacted": null,
 "anonymised": true,
 "victim_count": 1,
 "sentence_type": "compensation_only",
 "sentence_max_years": null,
 "compensation_inr": 2300000,
 "force": "state_police",
 "primary_source_url": "https://indiankanoon.org/doc/165886415/",
 "secondary_sources": [
  "https://indiankanoon.org/doc/49692536/"
 ],
 "summary": "The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court modified the compensation awarded by a Single Judge for the custodial death of a 17-year-old boy, [name withheld], who died in 2019 after being picked up by S.S. Colony police for an alleged jewellery theft. The Division Bench reduced the multiplier from 18 to 16 but affirmed the principle that compensation in custodial death cases need not strictly follow motor accident formulae. The court directed the State to pay the balance of Rs 18 lakh with 6% interest from September 2024. The Single Judge had found the boy was kept in illegal custody for three days and subjected to torture, with post-mortem revealing 25 ante-mortem injuries.",
 "summary_verified": "The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court modified the compensation awarded by a Single Judge for the custodial death of a 17-year-old boy, [name withheld], who died in 2019 after being picked up by S.S. Colony police for an alleged jewellery theft. The Division Bench reduced the multiplier from 18 to 16 but affirmed the principle that compensation in custodial death cases need not strictly follow motor accident formulae. The court directed the State to pay the balance of Rs 18 lakh with 6% interest from September 2024. The Single Judge had found the boy was kept in illegal custody for three days and subjected to torture, with post-mortem revealing 25 ante-mortem injuries.",
 "court_quote": "This Court is of the view that while paying compensation in the case of a custodial death, we cannot be very strict in applying the formula and though the learned Single Judge has erroneously applied the multiplier '18' instead of '16', we do not want to interfere with the compensation awarded, except to say that even according to the formula adopted by the learned single Judge, the compensation will be only Rs.22,98,000/- and should be rounded off to Rs.23,00,000/-.",
 "court_quote_para": "para 3",
 "confidence": "medium",
 "verdict": "accept",
 "verdict_note": "Victim is a minor (17 years old) and his name '[name withheld]' appears in victims[0].name and in the case_title; per register rules minors must not be named - redact.; The judgment itself (Indian Kanoon 165886415) never names the deceased - it refers only to 'the writ petitioner's son'; the name '[name withheld]' is unverified.; incident_date 2019-01-01 is an unverified placeholder; the source only establishes the death was in 2019.; Everything else verified: W.A.(MD) No. 823 of 2024, Madurai Bench (G. Jayachandran & K.K. Ramakrishnan), decided 07.01.2026, S.S. Colony PS Madurai; Single Judge Rs 25 lakh reduced to Rs 23,00,000 (22,98,000 rounded), balance Rs 18 lakh with 6% interest from 27.09.2024; quote verbatim (para 3); adverse finding against police for custodial death of a 17-year-old.",
 "verification_status": "V2",
 "verification_badge": "V2 · Externally reported",
 "tier_badge": "Externally reported",
 "tier": "Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded",
 "tier_history": [
  "Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded"
 ],
 "allegations": [
  {
   "category": "Custodial death",
   "primary": true,
   "position": "Material fact supported",
   "position_explainer": "Reliable material supports a specifically documented fact relevant to that allegation, not necessarily the full allegation, causation, intent, unlawfulness, or responsibility.",
   "official_finding_relation": "supports allegation"
  }
 ],
 "institutional_response": [
  {
   "date": "2026-01-07",
   "action_type": "Order issued",
   "status": "Concluded",
   "authority": "Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court",
   "independence": "External",
   "legal_effect": "Binding",
   "description": "The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel.",
   "disposition": "adverse finding compensation",
   "source": "2026 LiveLaw (Mad) (unreported)",
   "recheck": "Not yet re-checked."
  }
 ],
 "later_proceedings": [],
 "final_outcome_url": null,
 "followup_history": [
  {
   "date": "2026-09-24",
   "scope": "Swarm scout and independent verification pass (Muse Spark)."
  }
 ],
 "followup_status": "checked",
 "last_checked": "2026-09-24",
 "link_checked_per_url": [
  {
   "url": "https://indiankanoon.org/doc/165886415/",
   "link_checked": null
  },
  {
   "url": "https://indiankanoon.org/doc/49692536/",
   "link_checked": null
  }
 ],
 "source_assessment": {
  "established": null,
  "basis": null
 },
 "v3_basis": null,
 "publication_basis": null,
 "reviews": [],
 "retracted": {
  "is_retracted": false
 },
 "fidelity_checked": false,
 "verified_by": [
  "swarm-verify-cop-tn-hc"
 ],
 "merged_case_id": "cop-tn-hc-1",
 "officers_named_public": 0,
 "record_flag": null,
 "service": "police",
 "watch": "babuwatch"
}